Ben Butler, Rory Callinan

Mining magnate and would-be politician Clive Palmer has refused to pay nearly $500,000 in wrongful dismissal awards to two top football players booted off his now defunct Gold Coast team.

A Fairfax Media investigation has chronicled the collapse of Gold Coast United and Mr Palmer's decision to wind up the entity, leaving two former club players - German Peter Perchtold and Brazilian Robson Alves da Silva - hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket. The investigation found Mr Palmer's feud with Football Federation Australia became so bitter, he refused to drop ticket prices to bring back crowds, despite the match supposedly being subsidised by the FFA.

The club lost its licence in February last year after declining support and a series of rows with the FFA.

Towards the end of 2011, the two players were let go as part of a cost-cutting drive. The players lodged claims, and the FFA and an arbitrator awarded Perchtold about $280,000 and da Silva about $180,000.

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Before they could get their money from Gold Coast FC, the club was put into liquidation. Documents show it owed $3.8 million, most of it to companies in Mr Palmer's empire at the time.

Former Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Brendan Schwab, who represented da Silva and Perchtold, said the players were still trying to get their money. He called on Mr Palmer to honour his commitments, and described the Gold Coast experience as a debacle.

A spokesman for Mr Palmer did not respond directly when asked whether the players were paid, but blamed the FFA for the club's downfall. ''The demise of the club is a direct result of the FFA withdrawing the club's licence from GCU,'' he said.